Kingdom of the Eastmounts
The Kingdom of the Eastmounts is a sovereign state in on the eastern seaboard of the continent of Tarer. It is ruled by King Kroll VI. The official language of the Eastmounts is Comontung ("Common"). The official currency of the Eastmounts is the Tarerine Gold Piece. The official demonym for people or things originating from the Eastmounts is: Eastmontain, however; Eastmountian is most commonly used, but the usage of Eastmountian is seen as 'lower class' than Eastmontain. History The Kingdom of the Eastmounts was formed after the dissolution of the Great Empire of North Tarer over three centuries ago. There was a long period of disorganization and relative anarchy, until Kroll I created the realm after victory in a war of subjugation against the Coalition of Dukes in what is now Eastmontain territory. The Dukes were summarily executed or banished and replaced by men loyal to Kroll I. The populace hated Kroll I, but loved his son Kroll II, bore a striking resemblance to the old Emperor of North Tarer. Ultimately Kroll I was brutally murdered in his quarters, by attackers who were never brought to justice. Kroll II made for an excellent ruler, as he brought forth an era of unprecedented prosperity, thanks to the lucrative harbor leases he negotiated with the neighboring Allansian League, and the harsh tariffs he mandated on all trade through those same harbors. Once the Allansian's were successfully able to construct ships capable of traversing the White Sea to the north, the Eastmounts plunged into an economic depression they were not expecting or prepared for. Kroll III was ruler at the time, and saw war with the Allansian League as the only option to climb out of this hole. The war was longer lived than Kroll III, and ended in white peace after the borderlands of both states were practically ruined and the diplomatic relations of the two were nonexistent. The people of the Eastmounts grew accustomed to austerity and the palatial villas and estates fell into complete disrepair, and where there once were hedgemazes and artificial rivers, there were now fields of grain and irrigation canals. Many noble families left the Eastmounts behind with what little wealth they still possessed, and the realm primarily subsisted on agriculture and agricultural exports. Kroll V invested heavily in restoration projects and dreamed of seeing his Kingdom restored to the glorious days of his great-great-grandfather. The capital city became a beacon of culture and civilization and attracted the best and brightest in all of Tarer. Kroll V commissioned expensive new buildings, murals, statues, and parks, all tucked neatly into the well paved and finely landscaped avenues of the city. Entire districts of hovels and dilapidated shacks were leveled to make room for finely constructed apartments and townhouses. Thousands of peasants displaced to a life of poverty outside the safety of the capital's high walls. There were countless revolts and uprisings in the later days of Kroll V's reign, but it was pneumonia that finally took his life. After the death of Kroll V, his son Wynn I took the throne. Wynn was a rather indifferent ruler, he did little to disturb the status quo of his father's rule, and finished several of his father's projects, while disbanding a few others. Besides a two year scrap, not even officially a war, with the Allansians, nothing of great note occurred in his rule. Demographics The subjects of the Kingdom of the Eastmounts are almost entirely (>99%) intelligent humanoids of the following type: Human (30%), Dwarf (23%), Elf (17%), Half-Elf (12%), Gnome (9%), Halfling (5.5%), Half-Orc (2.7%). There has never been a non-human ruler of the Kingdom of the Eastmounts. Queen Ruara is the first non-human Queen.